Grimace-Bulds-the-Fire

There is a shop in Doha that stocks such items and I stopped in last month. Here are a few of the prize goods:

Anyway, all this added up to too many riyals and It got me thinking about trade, and this one trope I keep seeing lately of ‘natives’ prizing umbrellas and tophats from whitemens. So let’s trace this in a lazy loop of historical-cinematic-longshots fit for no place but a blog K?

Valentine’s day 1945 – King Abdul Aziz and his entourage of offspring headed out on a destroyer to meet an aircraft carrier with FDR on it.

The usual recollection of this event begins with KAA & FDR commiserating over disabilities.

Abdul Aziz was a giant. 6FT. 70 YRS. Arthritic. Glaucomitic. and FDR was of course wheelchaired.

They say the king said to the president: ‘nice wickerback chair, i wish i had one like it’.

The president immediately ordered his spare-chair up from below deck and gave it to the King.

Now take this precious moment and imagine them trundling around the deck in a spirited round of whip-it, seabreeze in KAA’s beard, salt spray misting FDR’s glasses:

B-l-i-s-s-!

Lastly I leave you with these screen lozenges to suck on:

Anthony Quinn (Auda ibu Tayi) in Lawrence of Arabia.

Beaulah Archuletta (Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky or Look) from The Searchers

No one seems to have noticed but I’m telling you: Lawrence of Arabia is a golldang western.